Chapter 1
An ordinary dawn, nothing special about it.
I, Winiel, a saintess candidate of the temple, was praying alone in the temple’s prayer hall as I always did.
‘God, please let my brother return safely today, without getting hurt.’
As always, my prayers began with wishing for my brother’s safety.
Ian Schnar.
My older brother—and my only family.
He was an adventurer who loved seeing the world. Five years ago, when I was six, he left me in the care of the temple and set off on his journey.
‘It does make me a little sad that he left me alone in the temple.’
But it was still fine.
After our parents passed away early, my brother raised me all by himself, even though I was six years younger than him.
‘He deserves to be free.’
I understood that.
Even if I only got to see him once or twice a year.
Even if his letters only came once every two months!
I could endure it all.
But because of that, today’s prayer felt like it would be a little longer than usual.
‘But God, my brother hasn’t contacted me for a whole year. The people at the temple say he’s just busy, but no matter what, isn’t this too much?’
The more I thought about it, the heavier my heart became.
For nearly a year, my brother hadn’t contacted me even once.
This really was too much!
So I prayed.
‘God, please let me know how my brother is. I’m begging you. Please.’
Clutching the necklace that was my mother’s keepsake, I prayed desperately.
And then—
“Uh… huh?”
Suddenly, my vision flashed brightly, and something began to surface in my mind.
Had God really answered my prayer?
My heart started pounding wildly.
I focused on the mysterious information flooding into my head.
And then…
‘Huh…? What is this?’
I realized that I had reincarnated into a novel.
People with strong divine power were said to sometimes recall fragments of their past lives.
Perhaps I was one of them.
‘I’ve never read a novel like this in this life. Which means… I must have read it in my previous life…!’
The novel’s plot wasn’t complicated.
It was a fantasy coming-of-age story packed with frustration—about a male protagonist, heir to a prestigious ducal family of swordsmen, who grows through hardship while clashing with a dark magic villain organization threatening the empire.
“Ugh…”
But I couldn’t think any further.
The moment I recalled the novel, I was struck by a fever.
Not just because of the shock of realizing I’d reincarnated into a story.
‘B-Brother…’
One particular scene from the novel refused to leave my mind.
It was the scene where the protagonist discovered the corpse of a low-ranking member of the villain organization.
—“Looks like they planned to pin it on this guy. His name is… Ian Schnar.”
My brother’s role was to be a disposable underling, killed as a scapegoat.
‘My brother is a villain’s subordinate… and he dies!?’
It felt like my world was collapsing.
If that was going to happen, wouldn’t it have been better if he never appeared at all—like me?!
How could he exist just to become a dead body?!
My head felt like it was on fire.
Days passed like that.
Yet I still couldn’t get out of bed.
The fever gradually subsided, but I was so consumed by thoughts of my brother that I couldn’t bring myself to move.
“You ran around every dawn, and now you’ve finally caused trouble! How many days are you going to lie there?!”
Hilla, the priest assigned to me, snapped angrily as she looked down at me.
“This is your own fault. Deal with it yourself!”
She didn’t even give me medicine and left me there.
‘What kind of personality is that…? Is she really a priest?’
Honestly, it wasn’t that surprising. I’d always been treated like this.
‘It’s because I’m a commoner-born saintess candidate.’
A “saintess candidate” referred to a girl with divine power. Since bloodline mattered greatly, only noble children were originally eligible.
However, the temple hadn’t produced a true saintess for years.
So now, even commoner orphans with unclear origins—like me—were accepted if they had enough divine power.
‘But there’s no way the treatment inside the temple would be good.’
Unless it was the high priest who valued ability above all else, everyone subtly looked down on me.
And since there had never been another case like mine, the discrimination was even worse.
I wondered if things would improve once I became a true saintess—but that day was still far away.
‘You can only take God’s trial after coming of age.’
I’d heard that taking it before adulthood would result in eternal sleep.
I was eleven. Nineteen was still a long way off.
‘I really want to leave this place as soon as possible.’
I didn’t want to become a saintess badly enough to endure this treatment.
‘But… staying a saintess candidate was supposed to help my brother with his adventures.’
For his sake, I could endure it.
I truly could.
But now…
‘Looking at it now, it was all pointless.’
I bit my lip tightly.
Tears threatened to spill as thoughts of my brother resurfaced.
‘He said he was traveling the world…’
Liar.
You lied to me and went around doing bad things.
I sniffled, then finally let the tears fall.
‘Why did you even get involved with them, you idiot…!’
Even now, I couldn’t believe he was doing evil things.
The brother I remembered was kind and pure-hearted. He was never someone who would do something like that.
I rubbed my eyes quietly, making sure no one heard.
‘No. I can’t give up like this. There’s still time. I’ll stop him now!’
In the original story, my brother’s death happened years later.
‘I’ll convince him to turn himself in!’
I didn’t know how deep his crimes went, but it was far better to face proper punishment than to be discarded and killed.
‘If he’s just a low-ranking member, he definitely won’t be executed!’
So I had to contact him immediately!
I sprang out of bed.
But my confident steps toward the door quickly stopped.
‘…Wait. How do I contact him?’
Come to think of it, I had no way to contact my brother.
The reason I prayed in the first place was because I’d lost contact with him.
‘Then… does that mean he’ll just die?’
Even if there was time before his death, if I couldn’t reach him, the outcome wouldn’t change.
‘That can’t happen! I have to find a way!’
I paced the small room frantically.
‘Could I ask someone else? The high priest? But he’s away right now…’
The only person in the temple who treated me kindly was traveling around the empire.
‘Even if I ask the priests to call him, they won’t listen.’
I’d tried before—asking about my brother’s whereabouts and requesting the high priest.
They’d ignored me without batting an eye.
So this time would be no different.
‘Then who can I ask?’
That was when—
“Ah… wait.”
Someone was chasing my brother in the novel.
‘The protagonist!’
The villain organization my brother belonged to was the true antagonist.
The protagonist and the villains were constantly hunting each other.
‘If I ask the protagonist to take down the villain organization!’
If the organization fell, my brother would naturally be caught too!
But one thing bothered me.
I tried to recall the timeline.
‘…The protagonist should only be thirteen right now. Is that okay?’
In the original story, he didn’t truly confront the villains until he was sixteen.
Would it really work if I went now?
But—
‘If it doesn’t work, then what?’
I clenched my fist.
I couldn’t just wait around and let my brother die.
‘He’s the heir to a ducal family. If the duke’s house moves, they can do it.’
And I had information about the villain organization too—I could help!
‘Alright. I’ll go meet the protagonist. I’ll ask him!’
Earlier than in the original story.
Before my brother dies.
I quickly prepared myself and left my room.
The night sky was pitch black, stars floating overhead.
I slipped out from the annex building, watching my surroundings.
‘If I get caught, I’m done for.’
The temple didn’t care whether I was sick or not—but they were extremely sensitive about me leaving the grounds.
That was why I’d only ever met my brother inside the temple.
‘This is my chance!’
They avoided me these days, saying they didn’t want to catch my illness.
Fewer eyes on me meant now was the perfect time to escape.
‘And I already know how to get out!’
I’d stayed obedient for my brother’s sake—not because I couldn’t leave.
I slipped behind statues and trees until I reached the wall surrounding the temple.
‘It was around here… Ah, here!’
I found the largest bush among those pressed against the wall.
After checking my surroundings once more—
‘Now!’
—I dove into the bush.
Branches scraped my face and body, but I kept crawling forward quietly.
Soon, I found a small hole in the wall.
‘The temple didn’t allow us to exchange letters.’
This was the secret place where my brother and I had exchanged letters without the temple’s knowledge.
‘Even though it’s been cut off for a year.’
Digging beneath the hole, I found a white letter.
The letter I’d left a year ago.
And the letter my brother hadn’t taken for a year.
“…Idiot brother.”
I stared at the dirt-covered letter, then stuffed it into my pocket.
‘Now’s not the time for this.’
Taking a deep breath, I pushed aside the bushes on the other side and peeked through the hole.
The passage was still connected to the outside.
‘Thank goodness. I can get out!’
I dug at the dirt.
The hole wasn’t very big. I had to widen it to fit through.
“Ugh…”
Digging with bare hands wasn’t easy.
My hands were soon torn up, blood seeping out.
‘It hurts… but I have to do this!’
Gritting my teeth, I kept digging.
Again and again.
After who knows how long, the hole was much larger.
‘I think I can fit now!’
I squeezed my body through.
“Urgh…!”
It still wasn’t easy.
“Huah—! I made it!”
After struggling until I was completely covered in dirt, I finally got through.
I took out the letter from my pocket.
Not the dirty one—but the new letter I’d written before leaving my room.
‘In case my brother comes back while I’m gone.’
I’d written a brief explanation.
Tap. Tap.
I pulled the bushes back into place, filled the hole, and buried the new letter inside.
‘Now let’s go!’
After covering the entrance on this side as well, I stood up and headed down the mountain.
The temple faded into the distance behind me.
‘I really left.’
After five years, the outside world felt unfamiliar and strange, making my heart flutter.
…If I get caught, I’m in serious trouble, right?
The thought crossed my mind—but I didn’t stop.
I’d already made up my mind.
‘Brother, wait for me. I’ll make sure you pay for your sins!’
Without looking back, I ran straight ahead.
